"Sometimes just focusing our thoughts on something, in a positive or unique way, provides the energy for new ideas to manifest themselves in the toughest of times," says Brooklyn-based sound composer Charles Edward Fambro.

On March 3 -- a week before disaster hit Japan -- he released "Vudu Ceremony On Mt. Fuji," a free improv sound composition that taps into the spirits of Haiti and Japan through analog synths, turntables, bass, low frequency oscillators and percussion. With the news from Japan growing more grim, Fambro has decided to donate all download proceeds to the Japan Society's Earthquake Relief Fund. Recommended for fans of ambient/experimental sound.

Hello all. Many thanks to those of you who have offered kind words of support and encouragement over the past week. Recent events in Japan have gotten in the way of blogging lately, but we are safe and sound in Tokyo and life is slowly returning to normal. Look forward to more updates here soon.

Japan is in our hearts -- Artist: Josh Geiser

In the meantime, if you would like to support the ongoing disaster relief efforts, please consider making a much-needed donation to the Red Cross Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Fund. (Small contributions are appreciated, and credit card payments are accepted.)

You can also help by purchasing any of the Japan Earthquake Relief prints by underground artists at the Poster Cause Project. 75% of profits from these prints will be donated to the Doctors Without Borders' earthquake and relief efforts in Japan.

Robotics researchers from Osaka University have teamed up with NTT Docomo and Qualcomm to develop a handheld humanoid phone that brings a new dimension to mobile communications. A prototype of the device -- called "Elfoid P1" -- was unveiled at a presentation in Tokyo on March 3.

The Elfoid phone is a miniature version of the Telenoid R1 robot developed last year by a research team led by Osaka University professor Hiroshi Ishiguro. The current prototype measures 20 centimeters (8 in) long, is covered in a soft fleshy urethane skin, and has the same genderless and ageless appearance as the Telenoid. The control buttons are embedded in the chest, which glows green when the Elfoid is in use.

Equipped with a camera and motion-capture system, the Elfoid phone will be able to watch the user's face and transmit motion data to another Elfoid phone, which can then reproduce the face and head movements in real-time.

The current prototype is unable to move, but future versions will incorporate tiny motors and parts made from shape-memory alloys, allowing the Elfoid to move its eyes, mouth, neck and arms. Other features will include a temperature sensor, accelerometer, and an easy-to-use voice and gesture based interface.

The Kaibutsu Ehon ("Illustrated Book of Monsters") is an 1881 book featuring woodblock prints of yōkai, or creatures from Japanese folklore. Illustrated by painter Nabeta Gyokuei, the book is modeled after the influential works of Toriyama Sekien, an 18th-century scholar and ukiyo-e artist known for his attempt to catalog the many species of yōkai in Japan. Here are 25 monsters from the book.

In the early 1970s, the Kewpie Corporation (maker of Kewpie brand mayonnaise) produced a deck of promotional playing cards featuring various pachimon kaiju (imitation monsters modeled after creatures from popular movies and TV shows).